Method of protecting ships



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

LINDON WALLACE BATES, OF MOUNT LEBANON, NEW YORK.

METHOD OF PROTECTING SHIPS.

No Drawing.

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, LINDON W. BATES, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Mount Lebanon, in the county of Columbia and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Methods of Protecting Ships, of which the following is a specification.

This invention pertains to a method of protecting vessels from the explosive effects of torpedo and gun fire as well as internal explosions. More particularly it pertains to the transformation by cold .of liquid or mobile fuel carried by such vessel in its fuel tanks into a solid or semi-solid body. The preferred fuel is described in detail in my copending application, Serial No. 315,497, filed August.5th, 1919, directed to a fuel and method of producing same. This fuel is a stable composite comprising pulverized carbonaceous substance and liquid hydrocarbon treated and controlled by the use of certain stabilizing substances such as limerosin grease or coal distillates having peptonizing qualities, or equivalent stablizing substances. But the congealing method herein described may be used with other liquid or mobile fuels than the fuel called colloidal fuel above mentioned. Furthermore it is not necessary to the application of this method that the fuel be stable, although for use as fuel it needs the stability feature at normal temperature. The utility of the fuel is not affected by the congealing treatment. Broadly speaking, all mobile fuels may be utilized for defensive purposes on shipboard which are subject to congelation.

It is known in military science that aside from armor plating, sand and asphalts are among the substances most diflicult for projectiles to penetrate and cause damage on explosion. The oil tanks and coal bins on ships are now purposely located in such positions as to serve in some measure the protective purpose. But oil is an inflamable liquid and is easily traversed by a shell. An

oil fire cannot be extinguished by water. The lumps of coal in a bin offer some resistance to the passage of the shell and the transmission of explosive forces, but afford much less resistance than sand or even than coal in finely pulverized form. On the other hand colloidal fuel is not affected by sea water and may carry in stable suspense in liquid form up to about 40% by weight of Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed February 19, 1920.

Patented May 24, 1921.

Serial No. 359,911.

carbonaceous particles and in mobile paste form still higher percentage. This fuel lends itself readily to special congealing or freezing treatment which hardens it to a material and adequate extent to produce a solid or semi-solid wall, asphalt-like in its appearance and operation. The fuel can readily be again liquefied and used, but while partially or wholly congealed serves in effect as a thick armor plate protecting the interior of the ship. This is the first instance of the application of cold to a liquid fuel or to any other fuel for military ends. To illustrate the hardening efficiency of colloidal fuel, the results of certain tests are instructive. A typical fuel of this class contains 36.4% by weight of coal particles and coke particles mixed, in Mexican reduced oil, stablized with 1.5% of lime-rosin soap carried in 8.5% of fuel oil. At 70 F. its viscosity, when five months old, is 3168 Engler. its viscosity, when first made, before the gel formation has begun, is considerably less. At 32 F. the fuel is much more viscous than at ordinary temperatures. The material still possesses the ability to flow as a liquid, but very slowly. At 23 F. the thickening process has progressed to such an extent that there is practically no evidence of flowing. At l3 F. the fuel loses all resemblance to a liquid and assumes that of a thick paste. It is not possible to cause the material to flow at this temperature. At4 F. it has a penetrability of 340 and at 67 F. of 290. These numbers representthe distance in millimeters penetrated by a No. 2 needle weighing 100 grams in five seconds. A penetration of 290 is about the consistency of material of a stiff graphite paste or the consistency of a soft road hinder of asphalt cement. It is not necessary to transform the fuel Into a solid in order to use itas a protection against shell fire and explosion. It is better for it to be sufiiciently paste-like to fill cavities under its own pressure after a shell has passed through a tank or exploded therein. The amount of congealing may be temperature irrespective of actual freezing or solidifying.

The use of elaborate mechanism to congeal the fuel is not necessary as insulation of the tanks preserves low temperature. The principle of the thermos bottle may be employed. Any suitable mechanism and method of congealing may be utilized. On shipboard the use of brine or carbonic acid for cooling purposes is favored. Pipes are laid in the chamber to be cooled, usually in the form of a grid or coil, sometimes on the side, sometimes overhead, sometimes in the center, sometimes between two tanks. In the first method, brine is kept in circulation in the pipes. The brine may consist of salt water, not sea water but water in which common salt has, been dissolved, but more often consists of a solution of chlorid of calcium. Dissolving a substance in water lowers the freezing point of the solution. A 20% calcium chlorid solution lowers the freezing point to 5 F. The use of a liquid that freezes at tempera tures below that at which the product is to be held is necessary in this freezing method. When carbonic acid is used a compression machine and other apparatus are required, to reduce the acid to a liquid state in which condition it is conveyed to the expansion coils. The anhydrous liquid on passing into the extension coils is suddenly released from the pressure under which it is held and is thereby reformed into gas. As a liquid can only become a gas by the addition of heat, it absorbs the heat from the surrounding objects, in this case from the fuel to be congealed. (Cold Storage, Heating and Ventz'latz'ng on Board Ship, S. F. Walker, R. N. 1911.) There are numerous other ways of adequately cooling mobile fuel in storage tanks. It is desirable to be able to use the pipes or coils both for heating and cooling purposes.

Congealed fuel may be restored to desired fluidity by heat. Thus the colloidal fuel mentioned earlier has a fluidity of 29.8 Engler at 200 F. and 11.3 Engler at 230 F. The fuel is not injured by such cold storage, no matter hoW prolonged. When fluidified again the fuel takes up its life where it left off upon con aling. Brownian activity resumes in full strength. The period of stability assured by the stabilizing treatment begins again to run, and if before congealing the fuel still has a couple of months life ahead, after decongealin it will still have this time of assured stabllity before it. No material change in the fuel results from the application of this storage method, as regards usefulness.

The congealing of the fuel serves not only the military defensive purpose but it also prevents or hinders change in the physical state of the fuel, such as separation of the articles from the liquid dispersion medium.

y so prolonging the life of a fuel the particles in a short lived fuel need not be reduced to so fine a size. The cold storage has also a fire hazard value. It takes a longer application of heat or more heat to ignite congealed fuel than fuel at normal temperatures. So also the fuel ma be stored under a Water seal, the water eing liquid or ice. This may also be done in the case of a stable mobile fuel irrespective of congealing. When a projectile penetrates a tank containing congealed colloidal fuel the heat causes the fuel adjacent to the path of the projectile to flow and to plug the hole. The congealing effect of the surrounding fuel and its'pressure will serve to a ain present a comparatively unbroken wal to further projectiles and to the admission of sea water.

Thecomposition of the fuel may be regulated to render it more solid or more liquid at given temperatures. Thus wax tailmgs and pitches are solid up to a certain temperature and then melt suddenly under heat.

'If small percentages of such substances are added to the colloidal fuel on manufacture, the fuel will be more solid or gel-like at low temperatures, and yet will flow about as well as before when heated for atomization and use as fuel.

It is also possible to increase the defensive efficiency of congealed fuel by varying the viscosities in the several tanks. There are usually several layers of these tanks, or a honeycomb structure. An outside tank may .be made to contain solid fuel, and an inner one paste-like fuel, and other tanks fuel of viscosity between these two or otherwise. A PI'OjGCtIlBlS held up to a greater extent by passing through bodies of varying consistency than -by passing through bodies of uniform character. This principle may'be applied in various ways on shi board. Certain of the military aspects 0 this new art are reserved for presentation on another occasion, in applications divisional by nature.

Having t us stated the nature of my invention, what I claim is:

1. That method of protecting a vessel using mobile fuel comprising particles of carbonaceous substance and liquid hydrocarbon against shell or torpedo fire, which consists in congealing the fuel while in storage on the vessel and maintaining it so congealed.

2. That method of protecting a vessel using mobile fuel comprising particles of carbonaceous substance and liquid hydrocarbon against shell or torpedo fire, which consists in increasing the viscosity of the f fuel while in storage on the vessel b the application of cold until a thick paste 1s obtailfied and maintaining such consistency by C0 3. That method of protecting a vessel using mobile fuel comprising particles of carbonaceous substance and liquid hydrocarbon against shell or torpedo fire, which consists in lowering the temperature in the tank on the vessel containing the fuel until the fuel approaches a semi-solid in consistency and maintaining such condition by congelation.

4. That method of protecting a vessel using mobile fuel comprising particles of carbonaceous substance and liquid hydrocarbon against shell or torpedo fire, which consists in bringing the fuel to a temperature below 40 F. in storage on the vessel and maintaining such temperature.

5. That method of protecting a vessel using mobile fuel comprising particles of carbonaceous substance and liquid hydrocarbon against shell or torpedo fire, Which consists in applying cold to the fuel which lowers and maintains its temperature at approximately 0 F. whereby the fuel becomes semi-solid and forms in the tank a protective wall defending the interior of the vessel.

6. That method of protecting a vessel using mobile fuel comprising particles of carbonaceous substance and liquid hydrocarbon against shell or torpedo fire which consists in congealing the fuel while in storage on the vessel and maintaining it so congealed and thereafter preheating the said fuel until it flows when use is desired.

7. That method of protecting a vessel using mobile fuel comprising particles of carbonaceous substance and liquid hydrocarbon against shell or torpedo fire, which consists in increasing the viscosity of the fuel while in storage on the vessel by the application of cold until a thick paste is obtained and maintaining such consistency by cold, and thereafter restoring the former state by heat so that the fuel may be utilized as such.

8. That method of protecting a vessel using mobile fuel comprising particles of carbonaceous substance and liquid hydrocarbon against shell or torpedo fire, which consists in congealing the fuel while in storage on the vessel and maintaining it so congealed by passing a freezing mixture through a coil or equivalent freezing apparatus associated with the storage tank, and thereafter passing steam through a coil or equivalent heating apparatus associated with the said tank to fluidify again the fuel for use as such.

9. That method of protecting a vessel using mobile fuel comprising particles of carbonaceous substance and liquid hydrocarbon against shell or torpedo fire, which consists in congealing the fuel while in storage on the vessel and maintainingit so congealed, and storing the fuel under a water seal which forms a layer adjacent to the tophsurface of the fuel and in contact therewit 10. That method of protecting a vessel using mobile fuel comprising particles of carbonaceous substance and liquid hydrocarbon against shell or torpedo fire, which consists in bringing the fuel to a temperature below 40 F. in storage on the vessel and maintaining such temperature, and storing the fuel under a'water seal which forms a layer adjacent to top surface of the fuel and in contact therewith.

11. That method of protecting a vessel using mobile fuel comprising particles of carbonaceous substance and liquid hydrocarbon against shell or torpedo fire, which consists in increasing the viscosity of the fuel while in storage on the vessel by the application of cold until a thick paste is obtained and maintaining such consistency by cold, and thereafter restoring the former state by heat so that the fuel may be utilized as such, and during these operations storing the fuel under a water seal which forms a layer adjacent to the top surface of the fuel and in contact therewith.

12. That method of protecting a vessel using mobile fuel comprising particles of carbonaceous substance and liquid hydrocarbon against shell or torpedo fire, which consists in congealing the fuel while in storage on the vessel and maintaining it so congealed by passing a freezing mixture through a coil or equivalent freezing apparatus associated with the storage tank, and thereafter passing steam through a coil or equivalent heating apparatus associated with the said tank to fluidify again the fuel for use as such, and during these operations storing the fuel under water seal which forms a layer adjacent to the top surface ofthe fuel and in contact therewith.

Signed at New York city in the county of New York and State of New York, this 17th day of Februar A. D. 1920.

LINDON vi ilLLAoE BATES. 

